The Lost Tamer
by Miss Anonymous hp
Summary: Even before Takato was electrocuted, he was having a crummy day. It all started when he woke up with no memory, no idea where he was, and surrounded by a group of kids known as the digidestined as they demanded to know the location of some kid named TK. Now he, Guilmon, and five worried kids must set out to find out what exactly is going on… and why.
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon. Or the Heroes of Olympus. Or anything in between.

**Summary:** Even before Takato was electrocuted, he was having a crummy day. It all started when he woke up with no memory, no idea where he was, and surrounded by a group of kids who called themselves the digidestined as they demanded to know where some kid named TK was. Now he, along with Guilmon and five worried kids, must set out to find out what exactly is going on… and why.

**Author's Note:** Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "birth".

This story is just written for a bit of fun. I don't have any planned update schedule, so update will come as they come. _Blurring Boundaries_ has not been forgotten and should be updated within the next few days. I'm aiming for the 24th, so that I can try to get back onto my monthly schedule with that, but we shall see. This is my first story where TK is not quite the main character (eep!), but he does have an important role to play. This is also my first time writing for either Takato or Guilmon, so feedback would be greatly appreciated. The plotline for this is pulled from the Heroes of Olympus series, so any similarities are probably intentional. I hope you all...

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter One**

Even before Takato was electrocuted, he was having a crummy day.

He woke up in a grass patch, not sure where he was, and snuggled up with some weird red dinosaur. That wasn't necessarily the crummy part. The dinosaur didn't really scare him, and he had a very strong feeling that he could trust him in a way that made him wonder if the dinosaur had some sort of intelligence. He blinked and realized that he should probably be wondering how a dinosaur was even alive in the first place. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to think.

That was when he noticed the eggs. Hundreds of them just laid out all around the rolling hills in front of them. They were decorated in all kinds of colors, and his stomach clenched unhappily, like he knew what hatched out of those painted eggs despite being certain that he had never seen anything like it ever before in his life. Or had he? Okay, this was starting to get really freaky.

A soft breeze wafted around him, bringing with it the scent of fresh air that Takato was pretty sure he wasn't exactly used to. He lived somewhere that was more crowded, more polluted. He tried to think back… the last thing he remembered…

The dinosaur stirred. "Takatomon?"

He was red, with black designs, a white belly, and intimidating looking claws. He was about the size of an elementary school student (which Takato automatically assumed was younger than him until he stopped to think about it and realized that he didn't even know his age either) and looked like he probably ate his weight in food on a daily basis. But there was a goofy look on his face that reminded Takato of a toddler that let him know that he probably wouldn't hurt a fly if the fly didn't give him a reason to. He looked seriously innocent, and Takato had a sudden urge to give the big guy a hug.

Instead, he pulled away. "Um, I don't—"

Didn't what? Know what a Takatomon was? Remember if his name was actually Takato? Remember who or _what_ the dinosaur was? Have any idea why the idea of a talking dinosaur wasn't freaking him out at _all_?

He was saved from the confusing array of thoughts flying through his head by a dog-looking monster suddenly racing up toward them. "Hey, you!" he shouted. "What are you doing here!? What are you doing near my babies!?"

Takato scrambled to his feet. For being much smaller than the red dinosaur that was still blinking confusedly around, the newcomer obviously meant business. He was red and purple all over, with long skinny ears, and a fanned out hindquarters. He came to a stop just a few feet in front of Takato and dug his claws into the ground and raised his behind as if getting ready to pounce. Takato didn't _think_ that the little guy could really hurt him, but he really did not want to find out.

"Whoa, hey!" Takato said, holding up his hands in an appeasing gesture.

"Takatomon," the red dinosaur at his side said as he rose to stand, "I smell digimon."

That word meant something to Takato. That word meant something _important_. The little monster's eyes fixed on the red dinosaur for a long moment before turning his eyes onto Takato. His scowl deepened. A jolt went down Takato's spine. He got the sudden feeling that he was a trespasser and that this little monster dude was fully aware that he was not supposed to be there. He waited for him to call him out, demand to know what he was doing here, all the while knowing that he was not going to have a clue as to what to say.

"Of course you smell digimon!" the little monster finally snapped. "I _am_ a digimon, and so are you, by the looks of it!"

The red dinosaur blinked several times. "Wha…?" He looked down at himself and yelped, "Ah!" before falling over himself in shock.

Takato blinked.

The little monster just shook his head. "You must be new," he said. "I'm Elecmon. I don't think I've ever seen your kind around here before. You're not here to steal my babies, are you?"

"Who, me?" Takato stuttered out. "No! Why would I do something like that?"

"I don't know, but you can never be too careful," Elecmon said. He looked between the two of them. "Besides, I was talking about your red friend. I know a human when I see one! Well, who are you then?"

The red dinosaur clambered to his feet. "I'm Guilmon! And this is Takatomon!"

"Uh… without the –mon, I think," Takato tacked on, wincing at the uncertainty of his own name.

If Elecmon caught onto it, he didn't let it show. "Well, then. Are you here for the babysitting job? I have to say, it's a lot of work, and the pay's not very good. But I can offer you three delicious meals a day of fresh fish plus about sixteen digi-dollars an hour…"

He started to walk off as if he expected Takato and Guilmon to follow. Guilmon did, nodding his head all the while as if he were taking this information all very seriously.

"Wait!" Takato called out. "This is some kind of mistake. I'm not supposed to be here."

Elecmon stopped and turned toward him with a laugh. "Of course you're not! Not without an invitation from me, at least. But since you're here, we might as well put you to work." His eyes narrowed. "Unless you _were_ here to steal my babies."

Takato gulped.

"Why would anybody steal your babies, Elecmon?" Guilmon asked innocently. "There's all of these delicious looking eggs right here instead!"

All of Elecmon's fur stood straight up, and Takato immediately knew that Guilmon had said the wrong thing. Elecmon leaped back several feet, his glare locked on Guilmon, as he raised his haunches in the air as if he were getting ready to pounce once again. He started to crackle with electricity.

"_Super Thunder—_"

"WAIT!"

Takato didn't know this red dinosaur, or at least he didn't remember knowing him, but he knew that he didn't want to see him get hurt. He also could tell that this Elecmon was just trying to protect what was his, but Guilmon didn't seem to understand that he had just offended him. Maybe it was brash, maybe he would regret it later, but Takato threw himself in front of Guilmon with his arms held out. Elecmon blinked and straightened himself out again, obviously not looking to hurt the kid, but the glare did not lessen right away.

"Please don't hurt him!" Takato said. "He didn't mean it. Isn't that right, boy?"

The affectionate nickname fell off his lips without a thought, and Takato hesitated, feeling like he had definitely said that before. Had he said that about Guilmon? He wasn't sure, but he was starting to think that it might be possible.

Guilmon blinked up at him. "Didn't mean what, Takatomon?"

Takato resisted the urge to drop his face into his hand and instead looked at Elecmon with a smile. "See?" he said. "He doesn't even know what he said!"

Elecmon's glare finally let up, but he kept his eyes narrowed with suspicion. "He better not touch any of my eggs!"

"He won't!" Takato promised immediately. He looked around at the decorated eggs, suddenly curious. "What are they?"

"Don't tell me you've never seen a digiegg!" Elecmon said.

Both Takato and Guilmon shook their head.

Talking about his life's work, Elecmon seemed a lot happier. He ran over to the closest egg, a white one with yellow swirls, and picked it up before running it over to Takato. He held it up as if presenting it.

"This is a digiegg," he explained. "It is the source of all life in the Digital World, the form that all digimon start off as or start over in when they need to be reborn."

Something about that sentence hit Takato as both hopeful and wrong all at the same time. "Reborn?" he repeated.

"That's right, my boy," Elecmon said, as if two seconds ago he hadn't been ready to fight them. "All digimon get the chance to be reborn, whether good or evil, right here."

"Like a second chance," Takato muttered.

Elecmon nodded. "Or a third or fourth."

Guilmon leaned in close and sniffed the egg curiously. "I came from that?" he asked.

"Yeah. All digimon do," Elecmon said.

But there was something off about his voice that Takato caught, like he wasn't actually sure of himself for the first time, as if there were something different about Guilmon that made him not like every other digimon out there. Takato wanted to push for more information, try to figure out exactly _what_ was so different about him, but Guilmon didn't seem at all concerned. He just sniffed the egg again and then went to lick it, earning a scratch on the nose from Elecmon.

"I just wanted a taste!" Guilmon whimpered, holding his nose.

"Keep your tongue away from my babies!" Elecmon shouted.

At least he didn't try to shock him this time. He seemed to realize that Guilmon was just a big baby himself. That was one problem down, only about a billion more for Takato to sort through.

"Where are we?" he asked. Might as well start small.

"You mean you don't know?" Elecmon asked, sounding affronted.

Takato and Guilmon shook their heads.

"This is Primary Village, the birthplace of the Digital World," Elecmon said.

They continued to stare at him blankly.

"On File Island?" he continued.

Their blank stares didn't change.

His eyes narrowed. "Have you ever _been_ to the Digital World?"

Takato's memory told him that he should say no but something about the question made him hesitate. Something was stirring within, trying to come to the surface, but as he tried to grasp it, the thought slipped through his fingers like sand. This was starting to get extremely frustrating, but he was mostly just sad and scared. What was going on?

"I… I don't know," he finally answered as honestly as he could. He looked at Guilmon. "What about you?"

"What's the Digital World?" he asked. "Is that some kind of buffet? Can we go get something to eat? Takatomon, I'm hungry."

Elecmon looked between the two of them. "You two are being serious, aren't you?"

"I wish I wasn't," Takato muttered miserably. He was trying and failing not to panic. "I don't know where I am or why I'm here or who this guy is—"

He jutted a thumb toward Guilmon who blinked up at him with a kicked puppy look that instantly made Takato feel guilty for admitting that at all.

"Takatmon doesn't remember me?" he asked. "But… but we're best friends…"

Yeah, that just made him feel worse.

Elecmon gave Guilmon a curious look. "Well, what do _you_ remember?"

Guilmon stared at him as if that were a question that he had never considered before. He brought a claw up to his chin thoughtfully and seemed to strain himself as he tried to think. "Hm… I remember Takatomon!" he announced triumphantly.

"But what about anything else?" Takato asked, growing more desperate by the minute. "Where are we from? Who are our friends? Why are we here?"

"No," Guilmon said slowly as if just realizing this. "Why are we here, Takatomon?"

Takato sighed sadly. "I wish I knew."

Elecmon narrowed his eyes at him, like he couldn't decide whether he should be suspicious or worried. "Did you hit your head on something? What _do_ you remember?"

He shrugged helplessly. "Nothing… I don't even know who I am."


	2. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer**:I do not own Digimon. Or Heroes of Olympus. But how cool would it be if I did?

**Author's Note**: Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "device".

Don't expect updates to always be this quick! But when I'm on a roll, I'm on a roll, what can I say? I reworded the summary just a tad, because I thought it sounded a little awkward. Hopefully you all agree with my changes. Also, baby digimon are so cute, aren't they? Yes, yes, they are.

Enjoy!

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**Chapter Two**

The inside of Elecmon's home looked more like a preschool than somewhere to have tea. Guilmon had crushed a toy upon walking in with a pathetic "Sorry!" that mostly went ignored. The chair that Elecmon gestured for Takato to sit in was much too small for him, and Guilmon ignored the chairs and decided to just plop down on the floor instead. The table they sat at was much shorter than was comfortable, and Takato had to stretch out his legs to keep his knees from knocking against the underside of the wood.

Any second now, Elecmon was going to plop a coloring book and several crayons in front of him to keep him occupied. He just knew it. His eyes widened with alarm when Elecmon seemed ready to do just that as he pulled a colorful book off of the shelf, but instead of giving it to Takato, he carried it over to a playpen in the corner where two baby digimon were currently wrestling playfully.

"There you go, you two," he said affectionately. "Play nice now and enjoy this book about Patamon and his adventures. I wrote it myself!"

Elecmon puffed his chest out as if that was supposed to mean something, but the two baby digimon were too busy tearing through the book already to give him much of a response. He turned to another whimpering baby digimon that was settled in a nearby crib and rocked him a few times to ease him back to sleep. The fifth baby digimon in the room was given a bottle and a few cooing words before he was left to his own devices.

Finally, he came to a stop in front of Takato and Guilmon as if just remembering that they were there. "What was I doing?" he muttered. "Oh, right! Tea!" He started to bustle around the kitchen while Takato and Guilmon watched.

"Uh… Elecmon?" Takato said. "Shouldn't we be figuring out who I am? Or at least how I got here?"

"Hm?" Elecmon placed a kettle on his child-sized stove before Takato's words seemed to sink in. "Oh! Yes. I have a friend that is coming over for tea who might be able to tell us a thing or two to help you out."

Takato brightened immediately. "Really? Who?"

Guilmon perked up. "I smell digimon!"

A swift knocking on the cottage door cut off Elecmon's response, and the little digimon raced past Takato and Guilmon to the front door. Standing on the other side was a really tall man who appeared to be naked at first glance with orange skin, purple polka dots, and a silver helmet on his head. Takato didn't know whether to blush or stare, so he did both.

But the longer he stared, the more Takato realized that first of all, this guy was taller than any man he had ever seen in his life, and secondly, those weren't human legs at all. From the waist down, the orange man was all animal, muscle and sinew under prickly orange and purple fur. His feet were polished hooves holding up long skinny legs and knobby-knees. As the guest stepped into the house, having to duck to avoid banging his head on the doorframe, his hindquarters just kept going and going and going.

Takato had to blink twice before he realized that an orange and purple horse with a man's torso and head attached to the front had just walked through the door. Though his jaw dropped open, and he was completely shocked, he had the strangest feeling that he shouldn't be. Like this – a half-man, half-horse creature – was completely normal. Either he was totally losing his mind, or he had led a life far more interesting than he could have ever anticipated.

"Takato, Guilmon, I'd like to meet a friend of mine," Elecmon said, leading the horse-man toward them. "This is Centarumon."

"Hi!" Guilmon said brightly.

"Uh… It's nice to meet you?" Takato didn't _mean_ for it to come out as a question. He just found himself suddenly at a loss as to how he was supposed to address a man-horse creature that looked like he could snap him in half if he wasn't in a particularly good mood. The fact that he couldn't even _see_ Centarumon's expression underneath that helmet made him all the more intimidating looking.

"And you," Centarumon said, with a polite nod in his direction. He turned to Elecmon. "I didn't realize you had invited others for tea."

"I didn't," Elecmon huffed, as if it were an inconvenience to him, which considering they were apparently interrupting his tea plans, it probably was. "They just kinda showed up, and… well…" The kettle started to whistle from the kitchen. "Oh! The tea. Takato, why don't you explain it?"

He raced off before Takato agreed, and Takato grimaced as he was left alone with the large digimon – he could only _be_ a digimon looking like that, right? He sure hoped that this guy wasn't someone that passed swift judgments, because Takato was pretty sure that his story sounded about as false as any other. He told it anyway, though, as short and sweet as it was. It was, as far as he knew, his life story, and it took him less than five minutes to say it all. Talk about depressing.

"I see," Centarumon said.

He had lowered himself in front of the child-sized table so that his legs were curled underneath him. The table was even more ill-fitting for him than Takato, and it made his plight with the size seem a lot less important.

"And you remember nothing before you woke up here?" he continued.

Takato closed his eyes and tried to think, tried to force his mind to go where his memories wouldn't allow, but it was like hitting a brick wall. He felt like he had something right on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't quite get it out. He somehow knew that when it came to words that he forgot, if he stopped trying so hard to remember it, then it would be more likely to come back to him when he least expected it. But who had told him that and where he learned it were just as blank as everything else.

"No, nothing."

He sent Guilmon an apologetic look, knowing how much that information had hurt him before, but Guilmon didn't even seem to hear him. He was in the middle of a staring contest with one of the baby digimon.

"Well, the most likely way for a human to come to the Digital World is if they are a digidestined and have a digivice," Centarumon said.

Takato stared at him, most of those words going over his head in a way that told him that he should probably know what they meant but he no longer did. "I have no idea what any of that means."

"You are in the Digital World." Takato nodded; he remembered Elecmon mentioning that earlier. "You are human." He nodded again; he knew that one on his own, thanks. "You may be a digidestined, which means you may have a digivice."

"That's where you lost me," Takato said.

Elecmon returned with a tea tray that he set down on the table. "Check your pockets," he told him.

As Elecmon poured each of them a cup of tea, Takato instinctive reached down to follow his instructions. He only hesitated for a moment when he felt a flash of panic as he worried about having anything embarrassing on him. _Like what?_ a voice in his head asked sarcastically. _A love note from a girlfriend you don't even remember?_ The voice had a pretty good point, so Takato went ahead and just dumped everything he found onto the table in front of him.

Takato hadn't paid much attention to what he was wearing, but he apparently really liked pockets. He wore a thin blue windbreaker that had pockets on the outside as well as on the inside, a plain white t-shirt with a breast pocket, a pair of brown cargo pants that had pockets on the front, the back, and one more halfway down his pants leg by his right knee, and a pair of blue and white sneakers. Fortunately, most of the pockets were empty, but by the time he was done with his own personal pat-down, he had a nice collection of items sitting in front of him.

Everybody leaned forward to get a good look. Even Guilmon had ended his staring contest to look (and sniff) at his stuff curiously. He had a pack of gum, a deck of cards for a game that Takato didn't recognize, a folded up piece of paper with a heart drawn on the top that _did_ look suspiciously like a love note (and that Takato still blushed at for reasons he couldn't remember), a receipt that had probably been for the gum but was no longer readable, several banknotes and coins that Takato immediately identified as yen though he couldn't explain how he knew that, another piece of paper that had a handwritten list of groceries on it as if Takato had been in the middle of running errands when he had been just picked and dropped here, and…

"A digivice," Centarumon breathed as he picked up the red and white device.

"So it's true then," Elecmon said. "He's one of them, like TK and the rest. We can call them! They'll know what to do."

"Maybe," Centarumon muttered, but Takato couldn't help but notice that he didn't sound too certain of that. "It's a different model than I've ever seen before."

"A newer one?" Elecmon suggested. "Maybe a new group of digidestined has been chosen, like Davis and the others were when a new threat arrived?"

"Perhaps, but you would think that Gennai would inform us of this," Centarumon said.

Takato couldn't tell, but he guessed that he was probably frowning. The two digimon were talking as if he wasn't sitting right there, but he made no move to interrupt. Most of what they were saying was going over his head anyway, and if their talking back and forth brought him some answers, then they could ignore him all day long. Besides, as polite as Centarumon had been since he arrived, Takato still could not shake the feeling that he was not a digimon to be messed with, and he really did not feel like testing his theory.

As they talked, Elecmon finished serving the tea, setting a cup down in front of all of them. Guilmon immediately gulped his down, nearly swallowing the teacup with it, before he cried out, "Ah! It's hot!" and started to stampede around the room. Elecmon shot him a look as if to make sure he wasn't about to trample any of his babies before he went back to mostly ignoring him. Takato watched for a few seconds, amused, before he turned back to his own cup with a sigh. He couldn't even remember if he liked tea. He couldn't remember if he ever had it before and if so, who with.

A simple cup of tea shouldn't make anyone feel so lonely, but all he really wanted was at least one memory that let him know that someone out there was wondering where he was. His eyes slid over to the folded up piece of paper with the pink heart drawn on the front, and his fingers itched to reach out to grab it. But under the gazes of Centarumon and Elecmon, it felt stupid and needy, so Takato resisted. There was something else on the table that suddenly caught his eye, though. He reached out toward the deck of cards and fanned them out before he found what he had unconsciously been looking for.

"It's you," he said quietly.

Elecmon and Centarumon still heard him. "What?"

He turned the card around to show them. "It's you! Centarumon, you're on this card!"

Centarumon tilted his head in curiosity while Elecmon reached across the table to take the card from Takato's hand. He held it up as he gave it a look over before shaking his head.

"I have never seen anything like it," he muttered. "But it is a rather good likeness to you, Centarumon. Maybe you're famous!"

If Takato didn't know any better, he would have thought that Centarumon might have been blushing at the idea. He cleared his throat and turned his attention onto Takato instead of responding to Elecmon's comment.

"What other cards do you have in that deck?" he asked.

Takato spread out the cards more so that everybody could see. Most of them seemed to have creatures on them that Takato assumed were digimon as well, especially from the way that Elecmon and Centarumon were pointing out digimon that they recognized. About a hundred cards existed all together, more than any deck of playing guards that Takato could randomly remember ever existing. He couldn't even remember the last thing he had actually _played _that needed cards – well, cards other than the ones he was apparently carrying – but he was able to recall that most decks had about 52 cards, not closer to a hundred.

Guilmon sniffed the cards curiously before turning his big gold eyes onto Takato. "Is there one of me, Takatomon? Do I get a card, too?"

"Uh…" Takato said, scanning the cards quickly. Nothing big, red, and adorable really popped out at him. "No, I don't think so. Sorry, boy."

Guilmon's ears flattened with disappointment. "Aww…"

Takato smiled affectionately at the digimon and decided that if they were best friends, his life must be either pretty messed up or pretty darn interesting. He couldn't decide which, but right now, he was just glad not to be alone. He reached out and scratched Guilmon beneath his ear, which earned him something that he assumed was the equivalent of a purr before Guilmon got distracted by one of the baby digimon who were trying to learn to stand on their head.

"Ooh! I can do that too!" he said before he ran off.

Shaking his head in amusement, Takato turned his attention back to the cards. Something was extremely important about these cards. He was having a hard time piecing it all together, but right now, the only thing he had to go off of was his gut, and his gut was sending up red flares right about now. His eyes scanned the card faces before freezing on one card. It didn't seem so special compared to the others, but it didn't have a digimon on the front. Instead, it appeared to be a power-up card of some sort with an image of white wings gracing the front.

_Hyper Wings_, Takato read off.

A sudden pain behind Takato's eyes nearly toppled him off of his kiddy-chair. _Digimon. Digital World. Guilmon. Hyper Wings. _He still didn't know what anybody was talking about, but the words gave him a massive brain freeze – like his mind was trying to access information that should've been there but was missing.

Elecmon was at his side in an instant, catching him before he fell from his chair. For being such a small digimon, he had strength like a giant. "Whoa, there. Don't tell me you're about to pass out on me too?"

"No, no," Takato said, waving him off gratefully. "I'm okay…"

Centarumon gave him a look over in concern. "Maybe you're right, Elecmon. We should contact the other digidestined. They'll probably have a better idea of what to do with him in their world than we do in ours."

"Digidestined?" Takato asked. "Who are they?"

"Just sit tight. I'll go see if I can find Tentomon," Elecmon said. "He usually isn't too far away, and he'll be able to get into contact with Izzy. In the meantime, you should probably hold onto this." He pushed the device that they had called his digivice into his hands. "Hopefully you won't need it, but just in case—"

A menacing growling cut him off. Takato turned slowly to look at Guilmon who looked practically vicious. He was crouched, and his face was pulled into a tight snarl. His entire body shook with excitement. Beside him, the two baby digimon in the playpen were also trembling, but they were not looking at Guilmon. They were staring toward the ceiling as if expecting it to fall down on their heads any second now.

"What is it, boy?" Takato called out apprehensively.

"Takatomon," Guilmon growled in a voice that seemed uncharacteristic to the adorable dinosaur that Takato had started to get used to the past few hours, "I smell digimon."

This was the third time that Guilmon had said those words, but for some reason, this time the words made Takato shiver with fear. Something about the way he said it this time meant business; something about the way he said it this time meant danger.

That was when the ceiling exploded.


	3. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon. Or Heroes of Olympus. Such a shame, I know.

**Author's Note**: Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "wicked".

Another shockingly quick update. (What? One week is shockingly quick for me!) Almost everything in the summary has now happened. More still needs to be explained, but that will of course come later. I hope you all...

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Debris rained down upon them. Wood and tiling crashed into Elecmon's living room, showering them with chalk dust. The baby digimon screamed, and quicker than Takato thought possible, Elecmon had them all gathered up in the playpen while he and Centarumon used their bodies as a shield against the rubble falling down on top of them. Pieces of ceiling crushed and cracked games, toys, and the tea set that was still sitting on the kiddy table.

Takato threw his arms up over his head; it was the only instinctive action that made sense at the moment. He never saw the heavy piece of tiling headed for his head, but he was very glad when Guilmon tackled him out of his chair to avoid it.

"Thanks, boy," he breathed.

Guilmon just growled as his gaze shot up toward the ceiling. Something blue and gold flew overhead, but Takato only saw it for a second. He figured that he must have been severely dazed by the explosion, though, because he was pretty sure the blue and gold thing had been a bird the size of a car. Takato brought his hands up to rub at his eyes and shook his head. The only thing to be seen was blue sky.

_Not possible…_

Considering he just had tea with a centaur, dinosaur, and red puppy-turned-nanny, Takato was really going to need to rewrite his definition of the word possible.

"Go! Everybody out!" Elecmon yelled.

The walls around them groaned with the sudden instability. Centarumon shook debris off of his shoulders as the baby digimon scrambled onto his back before he galloped out of the small cottage. Elecmon, Guilmon, and Takato were right on his heels. They all came to a sudden stop right in front of the home, and it wasn't hard to guess why. Flapping its wings lazily and hovering about twenty feet in the air was one intimidating giant bird. It was electric blue and gold with lightning designs along its wings and face. White fur ran down its back. Protruding out of its forehead was a golden spike in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"That is one angry looking chicken," Takato said, his voice shaking. He turned to look at Centarumon. The baby digimon on his back were all huddled together, crying, and trying to hide behind Centarumon's muscular frame. "Is he the one who…?"

Centarumon nodded. "I believe so."

"What _is_ he?"

"A digimon."

_Duh_. Takato should have really expected that. "Okay," he said slowly. "_Who_ is he?"

"That's Thunderbirmon," Centarumon answered.

From the way he just stopped talking, Takato figured that was all he was going to get out of him. But he was burning with questions, and the bird wasn't attempting to peck out their eyes yet, so Takato figured that now was as good of a time as any to ask them.

"And what have we done recently to upset him?" he asked.

"Nothing as far as I know," Centarumon said.

"So why is he attacking us!?" asked Takato.

Centarumon shook his head. "I have no idea."

Then Thunderbirmon did something that Takato should have really expected to be possible but still managed to nearly give him a coronary – he opened up his orange beak and _laughed_.

"Of course you don't!" Thunderbirmon squawked, his voice cracking like a teenage boy going through puberty. "You claim to be a keeper of the most important information the Digital World has to offer, and yet you have no idea what's coming!"

"I'm a keeper of history," Centarumon said stiffly, "not a prophet."

"What do you think you're doing?" Elecmon shouted, pointing a sharp claw at him. "You can't just go around attacking Primary Village! You could hurt somebody, especially one of my babies!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Thunderbirmon said, his voice falsely apologetic. "Here, let me fix that by _actually_ hurting somebody! _Spark Wing!_"

Thunderbirmon flew back several feet before expanding his wings out full length. The feathers crackled with electricity, and the air around him grew dark before several spears (that were actually feathers) of lightning shot out toward them. Takato surprised himself by leaping out of the way without even a second thought, but the others weren't so lucky. Centarumon held up his metal gauntlets to deflect the electrified feathers as he used his body to protect the baby digimon. Elecmon and Guilmon took the full blast of the attack and were thrown backwards, slamming into the walls of the still smoldering house.

"Guilmon!" Takato cried.

Guilmon shook his head as he shakily got to his feet before growling at the bird digimon. Elecmon stayed down, having a harder time shaking off the attack's effects. Guilmon started to charge forward, but Centarumon held out an arm to keep him back.

"Guilmon, protect Elecmon," Centarumon ordered. "Takato, get the baby digimon to safety."

Takato wasn't sure where safety exactly existed, but he ran up to the centaur and gathered three of the squirming baby digimon into his arms. The other two perched on his shoulders. Centarumon held up one of his gauntleted hands toward the bird digimon as if he was trying to tell him to stay away, but Takato realized that it was a threatening gesture.

"Oh, come on, Centarumon," Thunderbirmon said in a voice far too chipper for the situation. "Let the little rookie attack me! When was the last time _you_ were in a battle anyway? You've been nothing but a bookkeeper ever since you were _retired_ to that stupid temple. My master has been planning this for _years_, and you and your precious Gennai haven't had a clue!"

"Is that so?" Centarumon asked in a voice that was so calm that it was hard to believe that a roof had just fallen on his head a few minutes ago. "Then, tell me, Thunderbirmon… who is your master?"

"You'll find out soon enough!" Thunderbirmon roared. "_Spark Wing!_"

"Takato, go!" Centarumon shouted.

Takato didn't need to be told twice. He darted to the side as the baby digimon screamed in his ears. Behind him, Centarumon deflected most of the electrically-charged feathers with his gauntlets, but Thunderbirmon had been aiming lower this time, and a few grazed the half-horse's legs, bringing him to his knees with a grunt.

"Centarumon!" Guilmon cried worriedly.

"Isn't that cute?" Thunderbirmon turned toward Guilmon. "The little rookie is worried for his new friend. Don't worry. It's your turn now."

Takato came to a skidding stop. He couldn't just _leave_ Guilmon there. He didn't know how, but he knew that Thunderbirmon had more power than Guilmon. Something about the way he said _rookie_ like he wasn't made Takato realize that he had to be a champion or higher. Where the term champion came from, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't really looking to question it right about now. The baby digimon seemed to realize that Takato's retreat had come to an end, and they jumped out of his arms and off of his shoulders. He spun to briefly watch them ducking into a nearby hut before his attention returned to the digimon standoff happening several feet away.

Thunderbirmon pulled back. "Goodbye, little dino! _Spark Wing!_"

"_Pyro Sphere!_"

A red-hot fireball shot out of Guilmon's mouth, catching the electrified feathers and incinerating them on impact. Takato was certain that Thunderbirmon would easily dodge the fireball still heading toward him, but he seemed too stunned by the fact that his attack had just been neutralized to do much more than take the pyro sphere right in the face. Elecmon was no longer dazed, but he could only get to his feet before Thunderbirmon was squawking in rage.

"Nice try, rookie." He glared at Guilmon. "But you'll have to do better than that! My master told me to expect you and your _partner_," he threw a glare over at Takato as if his mere existence disgusted him, "any day now. Be patient, I was told, be patient and just wait… someone special was coming… I don't see what's so special about a measly _human_, but I listened to my master, and now, here you are! I will be rewarded greatly for your destruction."

Centarumon was still kneeling, trying to get his injured legs back beneath him again, but a charge was building in his gauntlet, a sparking light that he brought up and pointed at Thunderbirmon. "_Solar Ray!_"

Thunderbirmon easily dodged it. He wasn't as distracted as he had seemed after all.

"My turn!" Thunderbirmon shouted. "_Thunderstorm!_"

The skies over Primary Village turned an angry gray as Thunderbirmon rapidly flapped his wings without moving from where he was hovering in the air. Wind started to whip around them as clouds gathered overhead. Takato was just starting to think that maybe ducking for cover would be a good idea when Thunderbirmon let out a squawk-like cry. An arc of lightning shot out of an overhead thundercloud and blasted Takato right in the chest.

_Bang!_ Takato found himself flat on his back. His mouth tasted like burning aluminum foil. He tingled from the tip of his fingers down to his toes. When he lifted his head, he saw that his clothes were smoking, and his shirt had been torn right over his sternum in the shape of a soot-covered ring.

Thunderbirmon let out a wicked laugh. Lightning crackled around the area, aiming for Elecmon, Guilmon, and Centarumon now that its first target was down. Guilmon roared defiantly, but it all sounded tinny and far away.

The three digimon shot off attacks, desperately trying to shoot Thunderbirmon out of the sky, but he was just toying with them. He easily dodged every attack long before it even got close to landing. Thunderbirmon had the advantage of the skies, but eventually, he would grow bored and deal with them, maybe get rid of the baby digimon at the same time. The thought angered Takato, and somehow, amongst his shaky knees and trembling hands, he rose unsteadily to his feet.

"Stop," he croaked. He wasn't sure who was more surprised: him or Thunderbirmon.

"How are you alive?" Thunderbirmon actually sounded frightened. "You're just a measly human!"

"My turn," Takato said. Through everything that had just happened, he still clutched the card from earlier. He let instincts take over. He pulled out his digivice and slid the card through the reader along the side like he'd done it a thousand times before. "_Digi-Modify! Hyper Wings Activate!_"

Six angel-like wings appeared on Guilmon's back, and the dinosaur took flight without missing a beat. Thunderbirmon flew back several feet, not looking too confident anymore.

"How did you do that?" Thunderbirmon asked.

"_Pyro Sphere!_" was Guilmon's response.

Thunderbirmon wailed in outrage as the blast singed his feathers on his left wing. Dodging became a lot harder when the distance between the two was closed up. "Impossible! Who _are_ you two!?"

Centarumon just looked stunned. "How…?"

"Who cares how!?" Elecmon cried, punching his tiny fists into the air. "Go, Guilmon!"

Thunderbirmon squawked at them, but Takato could see fear in his eyes. "You have no idea the powers that are brewing and the enemies that you've awakened! My master will destroy all you blasted digidesteined! This is a war you _cannot_ win!"

Above them, the storm continued to rage, turning into a full-force gale. Sheets of rain started to pour down on their heads. Guilmon had to fly lower to avoid being thrown off balance. The ground started to tremble, and Takato crouched to avoid falling over. Considering the alarmed looks on both Centarumon and Elecmon's faces, this must not have been normal Digital World behavior.

"My master calls me back!" Thunderbirmon cried with wicked glee. "And you, digidestined… you will come with me! _Spark Wing!_"

The electrified feathers caught Guilmon full force in the chest and neck, snapping his head back, and sending him crashing into the dampened ground. His wings flickered before dissipating. Thunderbirmon lunged at Takato, but Centarumon tackled the bird digimon from behind the second he got close enough. Both of them went sprawling. Elecmon surged forward to help, but Thunderbirmon managed to roll in Centarumon's grasp and get both of his wings free as he squawked, "_Spark Wing!_" Centarumon got hit on both sides at pointblank range, and he fell back, dazed and groaning.

"I got you now!" Thunderbirmon screamed.

He glided forward, and before Takato could even think about running off, Thunderbirmon had a claw around his ankle and yanked him right off the ground. The world turned upside down, and Takato yelped as he was lifted up into the air.

"GUILMON!" Takato cried.

But the big red dinosaur still didn't stir. Takato wondered if this might be the end and if it was a good thing that he didn't have any memories of the people who might be sad about his death when Elecmon suddenly launched himself at Thunderbirmon, managing to gain some serious height with the strength of his hind legs. He landed right on Thunderbirmon's face, and the bird digimon screeched in surprise before losing grip on Takato. Takato dropped safely (if albeit quite painfully since it was headfirst) to the floor, but Thunderbirmon turned his claws onto Elecmon instead.

Elecmon tried to head-butt him, claw him, and even tried a "_Super Thunder Strike!_" right in his face. But having already lost his previous prey, Thunderbirmon refused to let go of this one. They rose into the air, gaining speed, and getting further and further away.

Elecmon shouted down to them, "Protect my babies!"

Then the digimon nanny and the electrified bird spiraled into the clouds and disappeared.

A part of Takato wanted to just stay sitting down on the wet grass, staring up at the sky in complete shock, and never move. But the other part was louder, and that was the part that had him scrambling to his feet, ignoring the pain in his neck from the awkward landing, and sprinting over to Guilmon. He turned the red dinosaur over. His red scales were glistening from the impromptu rain, and he still looked pretty dazed, but at least he wasn't dead.

"Elecmon went up," Guilmon said.

"And never came back down," Takato finished.

Guilmon's ears drooped in guilt. "I'm sorry, Takato."

Takato was too busy reaching out to hug him to realize that he had dropped the –mon business. "Don't be sorry, Guilmon. It's not your fault. You were great!" He pulled back to give him a reassuring smile. "We were just caught a little off guard. We'll get him next time." He didn't stop and think about why he was so sure there would be a next time.

The storm dissipated. Baby digimon, more than just the five that Takato had rescued from Centarumon's back earlier, peeked out from around the buildings and trees in the area. They seemed all equally horrified and grateful, but none of them had the guts to come any closer. Takato was glad for that; he wasn't sure what he would tell them.

"Takatomon," Guilmon said suddenly. "I think I hit my head harder than I thought."

Takato pulled back to give him a worried look. "Why do you say that, boy?"

"Because I see a giant bug, and it's flying right at us!"

At first Takato thought Guilmon _had_ his head too hard. Then, he saw a dark shape descending from the east – too slow for a plane, too large for a bird, too many wings for another Thunderbirmon. As it got closer, he could see that Guilmon had been right; it _was_ a giant insect. It was flanked on either side by a winged-cat and an angry looking bird that put Thunderbirmon to shame.

"I really hope they're on our side," Takato groaned.

"Indeed they are," Centarumon said.

He had awoken at last. The sides of his helmet were charred and covered with sooth, and his gait was unsteady as he made his way over to them. But considering the face full of electricity he had just received a few minutes prior, Takato thought he looked pretty okay for a man-horse.

"The digidestined?" Takato asked, remembering their previous conversation. "I thought you said you had to call them to tell them to come?"

"Apparently, they were already on their way," Centarumon said.

Takato watched as the three digimon descended upon them and landed just a few feet from him. The flying cat carried two teenagers on her back – a petite short-haired girl about his age and a college-aged brunette boy that looked like he could have been related to the girl. Teenagers rode on the back of the angry red bird and the insect as well, all of them looking sleep-deprived and pale. The petite girl leaped off of the back of the winged-sphinx before she had even stopped moving and ran toward him while the others dismounted a bit more safely.

"Did you send the email?" the girl said. Her amber eyes looked painfully hopeful.

"What email?" Takato asked.

A second girl joined the first. This one had long lavender hair, glasses, and looked ready to punch him in the jaw. His face hurt just thinking about it.

"Look here, bud," the second girl said, poking him in the chest. "If you know where he is—!"

"Yolei!" the first girl said, taking her arm and pulling her off of him.

"Kari, look," the college-aged said, pointing at something on Takato's head.

Takato immediately reached up, feeling self-conscious about the way everybody was staring at him, like they expected him to do a flip or something. He felt something plastic sitting there and peeled off a pair of goggles. His head felt empty, naked without them there, as if he wore them all the time. He clutched the accessory to his chest, as if afraid that they were being pointed out because the guy wanted to take them from him, but he made no move to do that.

"The one with goggles has the answer," said the college-aged dude. "It wasn't Davis after all."

"I told you I didn't know anything," a kid about Takato's age huffed. He was also wearing a set of goggles on his head. Takato wondered if this was some weird fashion trend that he didn't remember (along with everything else) that he had decided to follow or if they were just two of the weirdest people in the world.

"Fine. You didn't know anything!" This time another college-aged guy spoke, but he was blonde with fierce blue eyes that made Takato want to run in the opposite direction, which didn't help when he walked right up to him. "But that means _you_ do. So, tell me where he is!"

"Uh, excuse me, Mr Angry Man, sir," Guilmon said. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't mind, Matt," a redheaded girl said. She walked up to the blonde dude and gently pushed him back, much to Takato's relief. "You gotta cut him some slack. We're trying to find a friend of ours who has been missing for three days. We're all kind of going out of our minds with worry. We were hoping he'd be here."

"Who?" Takato asked.

"My brother," Matt said. "Takeru Takaishi."


	4. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Digimon. or Heroes of Olympus. But in some scary alternate universe, I actually might...

**Author's Note****: **Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "love".

You know what that means? If you didn't catch the hint in the previous chapter, Takari (TK/Kari) _will_ be present in this story. Well, sort of. I mean, TK's not exactly _here_, but... you know. For non-Takari fans, if you decide to stick around, great! And don't worry. I know some Takari writers use the couple as an opening for bashing on some other characters/couples... _not_ happening. I love all of my characters equally. Well, semi-equally. I have a favorite. I can't help it. That being said, I hope all of you...

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Four**

After receiving a cryptic email that morning that sent them on a wild goose chase to Primary Village that ended at the feet of a very confused boy who remembered little more than his name, Kari could have been feeling any number of emotions. Instead, all she felt was dread.

_It's starting_, she thought. _Just like the dream said_.

She sat on the plush lawn of the Primary Village surrounded by the other ten digidestined and their digimon while Centarumon introduced them to Takato and Guilmon, the duo with amnesia. The weather was warm and humid, a complete contrast to the winter weather that waited for them back home, but Kari still felt a shiver run up her spine. She pulled her pink fleece snowboarding jacket closer to her body, trying to hide from the chill that she knew had nothing to do with the gentle breeze wafting through the group.

Centarumon finished the introductions, and Takato took a seat between Guilmon and the centaur digimon, completing the circle. That was the most disturbing part of the morning so far – not that Takato was a kid with no memory, a digimon, and a digivice, but that the email that had sent her here to find answers on TK's whereabouts had instead led her to another boy entirely, like the universe was saying, _Well, TK's gone, but here's a replacement for you_.

Tears gathered unwillingly in her amber eyes. All semester, she had been dropping hints for TK to finally see her as more than a friend. Finally, after a little intervention by Yolei who had gotten tired of watching them dance around each other, TK had kissed her. The last few weeks had been the best of her life. And then, three nights ago, the nightmare that started everything – that horrible voice, those terrible images. She had awoken in a cold sweat but was reluctant to share the dream with anyone, even TK.

Now, she didn't even have _him_. It was like he had just been wiped off the face of the planet, and she was stuck in the worst prank of all time. She wanted to scream. All she had to do was close her eyes to see TK: those sky blue eyes, spiky blond hair, that half-smile that always played his lips. His face was kind and gentle, but always a little sad. But then she opened her eyes and was faced with Takato's face instead, someone she didn't even know.

Veemon sized Guilmon up and down from where he sat. "Guilmon, you sure are big for a rookie. What's your secret?"

Guilmon blinked. "I don't know… Guilmon bread?"

Takato stared at Guilmon as if he had just said something painful, but everybody else just looked extremely confused.

"Guilmon bread?" Gatomon repeated.

"What in the Digiworld is that?" Tentomon asked.

Gomamon laughed. "Sounds a little fishy to me!"

Guilmon looked almost thoughtful as he considered their questions. "Hm… I don't know, but it sure sounds yummy! Takatomon, I'm hungry."

Takato let out an awkward laugh.

"Alright," Tai said, holding up his hands to get everybody's attention on him. "Let's go back to the beginning…"

"Yeah! Like where's Elecmon and why do we have an audience of digi-babies watching us?" Davis interrupted.

Kari looked around them to see that Davis was right. They were starting to gather an audience of newly hatched digimon. Every single one of them looked scared and frightened without their digi-mommy around, and Kari found herself caught between wanting to comfort them and wanting to listen to Takato's story. She decided to stay put; she doubted her current mood would make her a very good caregiver at the moment.

Tai gave Davis a look. "That's _not_ what I meant, Davis." He paused. "But it is a good question…"

"He got taken by some… big angry bird thing," Takato answered.

Yolei arched an eyebrow. "Are you talking about a digimon of some kind?"

"Yes," Centarumon said, answering for him. "We were attacked by Thunderbirmon."

"You were attacked by a… a _Thunderbirmon_?" Izzy asked, looking startled. "Are you sure? For what reason?"

"Very sure," Centarumon said, "but as for his reason… we do not know. He only mentioned that he had a master of some sort."

"Like I've never heard that line before," Tai groaned.

Ken looked pensive as he asked, "Izzy, what's the big deal about it being Thunderbirmon? Who is this digimon?"

"I don't know who he is," Izzy admitted, "but according to my computer, Thunderbirmon is an armor digimon. He shouldn't even be able to exist without a digiegg to assist in his digivolution. If he's been able to take on that form…"

"Then what?" Tentomon asked. "Earth to Izzy! Don't leave us in suspense!"

"Then something very weird is definitely going on in the Digital World," Izzy finished.

The group groaned.

"I think you're losing your touch!" Gomamon complained.

Joe smiled patiently. "Now, now, Gomamon. Izzy can't always have all the answers."

"Well, he should!"

Kari sighed as she silently agreed with Gomamon's frustration. She didn't blame Izzy in the slightest for only being able to spot the anomalies but not the source, but she couldn't help but feel like this new information gave them nothing new to go on. She still felt as helpless as she did before.

"Takato, why don't you tell us what happened from the beginning?" Tai said in a voice that was gentle but also made it clear that it was not a request. He was desperate for answers just as much as his sister.

The strange boy nodded and did his best to explain, though he seemed to have a hard time meeting any of their eyes. Kari got the feeling that it had nothing to do with whether or not he was telling the truth; he just seemed highly intimidated by the eleven humans and eleven digimon all staring at him with an intense hope that he would tell them something useful. But just as Kari feared, his story told them nothing at all. Well, nothing that immediately caught her attention anyway. The card thing sure sounded strange, but Kari didn't see how that could connect to TK.

When Takato finished his story, nobody in the circle looked satisfied – Matt, least of all. "No! The email said he would be here. It said if he we came here, we'd find the answer."

"You mentioned that email earlier," Takato said, looking around the circle uncertainly. "What exactly did it say?"

He sounded painfully expectant, as if the hope that they had been holding onto concerning this email this entire time was suddenly his hope for answers. Kari felt bad for him, knowing that he was about to be completely let down. She knew that feeling.

"_Travel to the Village of Beginnings and seek out the one with goggles_," Izzy recited. "_He will hold the answers you seek._"

Kari barely listened. She didn't need to hear the email for the hundredth time to know what it said. She had been replaying the message over and over in her head for the past few hours, ever since she awoke to find it in her inbox. She had been fooled; it was just another cruel joke being played on her by forces unknown who were probably laughing at her misery right about now. She tucked her hands under her arms, trying to stop them from shaking.

"And you all think that means me?" Takato asked, sounding baffled.

"Well, originally we thought it meant Davis," Tai admitted.

Davis shrugged, not taking the theory personally. "Actually, I was kind of hoping that it was me, too. We'd land, and I would just _know_ where he is…"

"He as in TK," Takato clarified.

"Right."

"I don't know where he is," Takato said, "and if I did… I don't remember it now. I don't remember much of anything."

"It's not your fault," Sora said gently.

"Though it sure would have helped," Yolei muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Now, Yolei," Hawkmon chided quietly, "we're all a little anxious to find TK and Patamon, but we shouldn't take it out on complete strangers!"

"This is troubling," Centarumon said. "A digidestined just going missing… And Patamon too?"

Gatomon nodded slowly, her ears drooping with her own despair at the current events. "We haven't heard a wing nor paw from him, not since the night TK disappeared. We're hoping that they're in the same place, but…"

"We thought, because of the email, that he and TK might have been through here, left some sort of trace," Gabumon continued.

"Elecmon didn't say anything to me about seeing them," Centarumon said regretfully. "And now, of course…"

He, like TK, was just gone. All of their leads were drying up before their very eyes.

"How long have you been searching for him?" Takato asked.

"Three days, six hours, and about twelve minutes," Kari answered without any hesitation. The other digidestined turned to look at her with gazes filled with concern, but she ignored them all. She didn't need their pity. She needed TK.

"And you have no idea what happened to him?"

Matt picked up where she left off. "It was Sunday night, dinner at Dad's… our new tradition. We'd ordered in so that we'd have more time to hang out instead of me cooking half the night. It was fun. Then, after dinner, he headed home… I offered to walk him, but he just reminded me that he was sixteen and didn't need an escort. Plus, he had Patamon with him. Mom called me the next day asking if he had stayed over or returned for some reason… She wasn't sure if he had ever even made it home. She'd fallen asleep early, and by morning, he was gone. Just like that. We thought… it was a mugging gone wrong or a kidnapping… Just some stupid, awful thing that people do… And then we got that email. Whatever is going on, it's got to do with the Digital World."

_Three days ago_, Kari thought. The same night as her dream. Her eyes stung just thinking about it as a small dark part of her wondered if she had somehow caused TK's disappearance. If she had, she would never forgive herself.

"Man…" Takato said, looking disturbed.

"This is disturbing news indeed," Centarumon said, "especially with what's going on…"

"You mean Thunderbirmon and his master?" Cody asked.

"And… maybe something else." Before anybody could ask what he meant by that, Centarumon turned to look at Takato with a concerned expression. "What worries me at the moment is that Thunderbirmon came here specifically for you, Takato. If Thunderbirmon and his master are hunting down digidestined, this may be what happened to TK."

Yolei shivered and hugged Hawkmon closer. "That's not a good thought."

"How would he have gotten to TK in the Real World?" Wormmon asked. "I thought the cracks between the two worlds were sealed four years ago."

"Me too, Wormmon," Ken said, looking concerned.

"I'm not sure," Centarumon admitted, "but Thunderbirmon made it sound like his master had been planning this for a while. It's possible that his master is far more powerful and has accomplished much more than we realize."

"That's a cheerful thought," Joe groaned.

"But I don't understand," Takato said. "What did I do to Thunderbirmon and his master to make them hate me so much?"

"We won't know until you get your memories back," Centarumon said.

"_If_ I get my memories back," Takato muttered.

"Don't despair, Takato," Centarumon continued. "I have a feeling that your memories are retrievable; they are just out of reach. Your first step to reclaiming them will be to figure out how you fit into all of this."

"Well, that's simple," Davis said. "He's a digidestined. That makes him one of us."

"Like a club?" Guilmon asked.

"Yeah, a club where you get to make a lot of great friends," Armadillomon said.

"And don't forget save the world," Hawkmon added.

Centarumon smiled and nodded. "Yes, he does appear to be a digidestined, but I get the feeling that it may be more involved than that."

"You think the email that we received wasn't a hoax after all," Izzy said, watching Centarumon with an intense curiosity. "You think it was telling the truth. Takato _is_ the key to figuring out what happened to TK."

"I am merely a keeper of the history of the Digital World, not an interpreter," Centarumon reminded them. "However… when the Digital World sends out a message like that, usually it's for a very good reason. I believe your problem and Takato's may be connected."

Kari should have felt elated to hear that the trip was not a waste after all, but she was stuck on the words that Centarumon uttered just a few seconds before. _He does appear to be a digidestined_. The way he said that, like he didn't actually believe his own words, as if he were forced to say a lie that he just wished were true – it was enough to fill Kari with uncertain dread as she returned her gaze to Takato once more.

He looked like a normal kid around their age, maybe a year younger if she had to guess, but his presence unsettled Kari in a way that was hard to describe. The longer she watched him, the more she started to wonder if her uncomfortable feeling really had everything to do with TK's disappearance and not Takato's unexpected arrival. If that were true, why was Takato's presence putting her on guard? Why was she getting the most intense feeling that he did _not_ belong here? That he wasn't… a digidestined at all?

"Well, that's great and everything, Centarumon, but that doesn't exactly tell us what we're supposed to learn from Takato being here instead of TK," Tai said.

"Maybe the email was trying to point us in the direction of Thunderbirmon," Mimi suggested. "Takato was attacked by him, which is why we were supposed to look for him, and now we should look for Thunderbirmon to find TK."

"Maybe," Izzy said hesitantly, "but that doesn't explain why Takato's here without any memories or why Thunderbirmon is after him as well."

"Or why he took Elecmon instead," Takato added, looking guilty enough to cry if someone said the wrong thing.

"Yes," Izzy said carefully, "or that."

Takato swallowed thickly and looked around the group. "What do you think happened to him? When he went up into the clouds, did he… Is he gone for good?"

"Hard to say." Izzy's expression looked pained. Everybody's in the circle did. "Thunderbirmon is an armor digimon. That puts him at the same level as a champion, sometimes higher depending on the digimon, and Elecmon is just a rookie…"

"Guilmon's just a rookie, and he was able to take him… mostly," Takato said.

"We were just caught off guard," Guilmon piped up. "Right, Takatomon?"

"Right, boy."

"You may have just been lucky," Izzy explained. "Or maybe he surprised Thunderbirmon by fighting back at all. Usually, a rookie is no match for a champion. Even a group of rookies can have issues taking on a champion, even if they outnumber them seven to one. It's just the way the power system works."

Takato looked like he wanted to protest those words, but he thought better of it. Instead, he asked, "So, you think he's really gone then?"

Centarumon took over answering. "Digimon don't ever really die, Takato. Thunderbirmon may have taken Elecmon, and he may have destroyed him… especially as I do not know why he would keep him alive, but his essence lives on. He will be reborn here at Primary Village, putting him right back where he belongs."

Kari imagined Elecmon somewhere out there already in one of the brightly colored digieggs just waiting to hatch. He would be born into a Primary Village without a guardian, probably one of the first one digimon to do in years – maybe _ever_. Her mood plummeted even further. Elecmon had died to protect Takato, the boy sitting across from her, a fellow digidestined, and here she sat thinking that he didn't _belong_. Could she be more selfish?

"What's going to happen to the baby digimon?" Cody asked. "Without Elecmon… will they be okay?"

"A temporary guardian will be assigned to them until a more permanent replacement can be found," Centarumon said, his voice sounding heavy suddenly. "Primary Village cannot exist unprotected."

Kari turned to look at the baby digimon again. Most of them were whimpering and crying, having understood Centarumon's words just fine. Those that remained confused must have been newly hatched, she realized. They would never know of the great protector and digi-mommy, Elecmon – not firsthand anyway. And who would replace him? Elecmon's number one choice for successor had always been Patamon, but he was gone too. Everybody was just disappearing…

"Poor, little guys," Yolei cooed quietly, having also been watching them with Kari. "Davis, go distract them!"

Davis blinked. "What? Why me?"

"Because they like you! And they need to be distracted. Not left to sit here and listen to us talk about these things while they get a perfect view of Elecmon's house!"

Davis turned to look at the still smoldering remains of his little cottage before it finally dawned on him. "But… I'm no babysitter."

"C'mon, Davis!" Veemon said. "Let's go play some soccer! Yolei's right. These little guys could use some cheering up."

Still looking every bit reluctant at being left out of any further discussion, Davis sighed nonetheless and stood. "Alright! All baby digimon, follow me!" Davis and Veemon herded the baby digimon away from the group the Elecmon's home.

Kari turned her attention back to the group. Tai was watching Izzy, waiting for his next brilliant suggestion, but Izzy was watching Takato. Had she not known Izzy for years, she may have found this a little strange, but she recognized that expression on his face. He was studying him like he was a complicated string of code that he was trying to decipher. Finally, he said, "Can I see the card you mentioned?"

Takato nodded and pulled the card out of his pocket before holding it out. The card was the same size as any normal playing card, but it was blue and green on one side with the image of the angel wings on the other. Something about that card really bothered Kari a lot, like it was a sign that the laws of nature were being rewritten before her very eyes. And try as she might, she was unable to completely push away the growing feeling of _wrongness_ that Takato just oozed.

"They look professionally done," Joe noticed. "Like it's part of some game."

"It is," Takato said. Then he winced as if his head ached. "I mean… I think so. I don't remember."

No one said anything. Everybody glanced toward Tai, their leader, as they waited for his verdict.

"Do you have more of these?" Tai asked.

"Almost a hundred or so," Takato answered. "Along with some other things that were in my pocket, but…"

He glanced back over his shoulder toward the ruins of Elecmon's home. Tai nodded, catching onto the message.

"You should probably go get your stuff. It might be important," Tai decided. "Cody, would you and Digmon—?"

"We'll dig out his cards," Cody promised. "Ready, Armadillomon?"

"Whenever you are, partner!"

"This way, Takato. This shouldn't take long." Cody gestured for Takato to follow, and he along with Guilmon and Centarumon got up as they headed toward the smoldering remains of the structure that once stood there.

The rest of the digidestined stood to stretch their legs during the impromptu break from their discussion until only Kari, Gatomon, Yolei, and Hawkmon were left. Yolei laced her arm through Kari's and hauled her to her feet before the amber-eyed girl could protest.

"Come on, Kari," Yolei said. "You and I are overdue for a bit of girl talk."


	5. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer:** I do now own Digimon. Or Heroes of Olympus. Or pretty much anything really. It's kinda sad actually...

**Author's Note****:** Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "hate".

If you have asked a question in your review or made a comment that you'd like to know my response to, feel free to go searching on the Digimon forums here on the site. Find the forum called Digital Connections. I have a topic up called, "Blurring Boundaries: And so it begins..." which was originally put up as a place to discuss my other story but is now also hosting review replies to this story as well. You can also find author updates from me on what's taking so long to update and whatnot on there as well. Anyway, originally, I was going to wait to update this story until I updated _Blurring Boundaries_, but Chapter Eighteen of that story is coming out very... awkwardly. So, in an attempt to knock out some cobwebs, I kind of accidentally finished Chapter Five of this story instead! So, I hope you all...

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Kari's heart wasn't in the girl talk.

Yolei talked about all of the current events going on back home in the real world concerning school and her home life – the math midterm, Mrs Hanari's baby, the guy that lived above her who always played his music way too loud – but Kari could barely muster any sort of response. Her mind was elsewhere. Not that Yolei was deterred at all. She just kept talking on, pointing out one of the buildings they had rebuilt four summers ago before hastily changing the subject. That was the building Kari and TK had worked on together, and Kari's stomach twisted with longing at the memory. Yolei continued to chatter on, skirting around any topics TK-related, which was particularly hard when all of their lives had become so intermingled since saving the world four years prior.

Kari wondered who sent the email, and how they had known to contact Kari directly. She wondered if TK was out there somewhere right now trying to find his way back to them, or if he was unconscious, needing their assistance. Was he locked up somewhere like a prisoner? Was Patamon okay? A million questions bubbled in her head, but she was afraid if she started to ask them aloud, she might burst, so she just kept quiet.

As they climbed a hill at the edge of Primary Village, Kari turned and got an amazing view of the multi-colored little town – toy blocks as big as skyscrapers, schoolhouses and nurseries nestled side-by-side, a wandering brook that surrounded the area, and fields of cribs and eggs – a bizarre assortment of Easter Eggs and brown wooden cradles that rocked themselves. In the distance, she thought she could see Davis leading a parade of baby digimon in a game of soccer. She cracked a smile, and then just as quickly as it came, it faded.

All of it seemed like a different world compared to the bleak snowy landscape waiting for them back home where TK was still just another missing teenager.

"It's hard to believe that Elecmon is gone, isn't it?" Yolei said. "It all just looks… exactly the same."

She looked at Kari like she was trying to read her mind.

"Yeah," Kari said. "Yeah, it does."

Yolei frowned. "You're taking all of this awfully calmly."

Kari couldn't tell her why. She couldn't admit that this just explained some weird feelings she'd been having for three days, or how it just confirmed everything that her dream had told her. Her dream had warned her this was coming. Why would she be surprised? _Hope will vanish_, the voice had rumbled. _When it does, Light will cooperate or it, along with the world, shall be extinguished. Cooperate, and there might be Hope for you yet._

Kari took a shaky breath. "It's still a clue," she lied, not able to look her DNA Digivolving Partner in the eye as she said it. "Not the clue we wanted, but a clue. It's something."

Yolei studied her, and Kari looked away. Several feet behind them, trailed Gatomon and Hawkmon, and the feline digimon's watchful gaze on her partner wasn't helping Kari feel any less transparent. Between her and Yolei, she was going to have to be careful with what she said from now on. They were both very smart, and she didn't want to worry them.

"Really?" Yolei said skeptically. "Because if I were you, I'd be angry. I'd want to find those punks that sent us here and give them a piece of my mind. I'd want to rip my own hair out with worry. I'd want to tear the Digital World apart looking for him." She paused. "Actually, I kind of want to do that anyway, so I can't imagine how you're feeling. But I imagine _totally calm_ isn't exactly on that list."

Kari's mind went blank. She heard Yolei just fine, but it was like her words had shaken her down to her core.

Yolei winced. "This probably isn't helping, isn't it? You just… you don't have to be strong around me, okay? We all know how worried you are…"

_No, you don't,_ Kari thought shakily. _You have no idea how worried I am that it's all my fault… _

She started to cry. She felt like a total fool, but she dropped down onto the closest tree stump and just fell to pieces. Gatomon ran over to her as Yolei immediately started to babble out apologies, but Kari barely heard either of them. It was all just too much. One day, she'd woken up the girlfriend of TK Takaishi. The next, she was worried he had been left for dead by some terrible street gang. And now, he was apparently kidnapped by some evil digimon who was having the time of its life messing with her.

"Hey," Gatomon said. "We'll figure it out. TK's gotta be out there somewhere, and I bet you Patamon's with him. They'll both be okay."

"They make a great team," Hawkmon added. "They are undoubtedly watching each other's backs right now as we speak."

_Not if he's dead or Patamon's destroyed_. Kari's dark thoughts threatened to make her cry harder, so she dropped her head to her knees in an attempt to stop from becoming an even bigger mess than she already was. After several minutes of shaking, she finally got enough control to start brushing the tears off of her cheeks.

"You brought me up here so no one would see me crying, didn't you?"

Yolei gave her a sad smile. "I figured you were due for a cry. I don't know what it's like to lose your boyfriend, but I _do_ know what it's like to lose a good friend… And it sucks."

"I just can't believe this is happening," Kari whispered.

"It is pretty freaky," Yolei agreed. "TK disappearing… Takato showing up here… It just doesn't make any sense."

"It does seem all too coincidental not to be related," Gatomon said. "There's still the chance that Gennai might know something that we don't, so now we just need to find him and make him talk straight for once!"

Hawkmon shot her a worried look. "Ah, Gatomon, I don't think threatening him will make him extra chatty."

Gatomon raised a furry eyebrow. "You'd be surprised."

Hawkmon shook his head. "Sometimes, you scare me."

"Thank you."

Kari let out a shaky sigh as she gazed out at the crazy assortment of colors that still peeked out beyond the trees that made up Primary Village. Her one clue, a gigantic bust – but maybe Yolei and Gatomon were right. Maybe, just maybe, the clue was still out there, waiting to be discovered. A part of her just wanted to curl up right where she sat and let the others look for it. They'd have a better chance of finding it if her bad fortune wasn't hanging over everybody. But she knew she couldn't do that.

"You want to head back down?" Yolei asked tentatively.

She didn't have a choice.

Kari gave a small nod as she moved to stand when she was hit by a wave of dizziness. At first, she thought that she just stood up too fast, but then the scenery around her changed. She saw flames, and a figure whose face was hidden behind a plague mask and a long snowy beard. She heard the same laughter as in her dream. She saw another figure draped in shadows, smaller, far more fragile, in chains and tied to a post in front of a roaring bonfire.

She dropped into Yolei's arms.

"Kari!?" Gatomon yelped.

Yolei turned to Hawkmon and shrieked, "Hawkmon! Go get some help!"

"No, it's—it's okay," Kari managed.

"Are you sure?" Yolei asked.

"Yeah. I just…" She had to get control over herself. With legs feeling like jelly, she managed to right herself once more. "I just stood up too fast. With so much happening today, I guess I just… But I'm okay."

Yolei hesitated. Then, she nodded for Hawkmon to stay. "Okay, if you're sure. You just went really pale… I thought you were about to pass out."

"I'm fine," Kari promised, though her heart was still racing. "But I don't think I'm ready to head back yet. Can we walk a bit more?"

Gatomon's gaze was impossible to meet as her piercing blue eyes were more unnerving than dagger blades. She seemed to be trying to read her partner's thoughts, and Kari felt instantly guilty. How could she keep anything from any of her best friends, especially Gatomon? But then again… how could she even think of telling them?

"Yeah, of course," Yolei said, but she didn't sound convinced. She kept shooting Kari worried looks out of the corner of her eye, like she expected her to faint any second. Kari tried not to look too guilty as they walked, mostly in silence now that they had run out of things to talk about. Kari didn't feel like breaking down again, and Yolei seemed to have lost interest in pretending nothing was the wrong.

Kari wasn't sure how long they had walked like this, just wandering further and further away from Primary Village, until Hawkmon cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over the foursome.

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt this lively chat," he said, "but don't you think we should be getting back to the others?"

Yolei looked up. "We have been gone a little while."

"They're probably missing us by now," Gatomon added. "Kari?"

The three of them turned to look at her, but Kari was barely listening. Her gaze was locked onto a place beyond the trees, staring at a strange glowing in the distance. As subtle as it was, it seemed to be calling for her attention so loudly that Kari was surprised that the others had yet to notice it at all. Her feeling of dread was the strongest it had been all day. Her dream – that horrible ultimatum – had something to do with that light.

"What is that?" Kari asked.

Yolei frowned, turning to look in her direction, but her confusion remained. "What is what?"

Kari headed in the direction of the glow, and Yolei, Gatomon, and Hawkmon followed, all sharing very confused looks. The closer Kari got, the more the glow started to solidify into several floating lanterns – except lanterns wasn't the right word, because these things were _alive_. Something was strangely familiar about them, like she had come across them before, but she couldn't immediately place where.

Kari glanced at her friends, expecting them to understand what she had been talking about, but they still looked just as confused as before. Their eyes were darting all around the clearing, their gazes glancing over the floating lights as if they weren't even there.

Yolei stepped back in the direction of Primary Village. "Um, Kari, maybe we should—"

"Hello?" Kari said instead, addressing the lights.

The light was in the shape of a diamond, and if it could turn to look at her, she was certain that was exactly what it just did. It spun on its axis as if restless, and Kari took an uncertain step backward. As strange and unusual as it was – she knew this light, this being.

"Child of Light." The voice seemed to come from nowhere, and it took Kari several seconds to realize that the light itself was speaking to her. "It is good to see you again."

"Again?" Kari asked.

"Who is she talking to?" Yolei asked, addressing Gatomon and sounding more than just a little frightened.

"Perhaps we should get her back to the rest of the group," Hawkmon suggested. "Maybe she's been out in the sun too long."

"No, wait!" Gatomon said. "I think I know what's going on…"

"What do you mean again?" Kari asked, ignoring her friends.

"Eight years ago, I used you as a vessel to talk to the rest of the digidestined. Unfortunately, the process wiped the memory of our talk from your mind," the entity explained.

Oh. Right. Kari remembered hearing about that afterward. As Tai and Matt fought in one of the worst fights they had ever had, some strange digital entity had taken control of her body to give everybody a history lesson. It was an effective end to the fighting or so she had been told. She remembered nothing about the incident. Her memory went from Tai and Matt fighting to waking up in Tai's arms later.

"Is that what you're here for? I kind of like having control of my body," Kari said.

"No," the entity said. "We wish to speak with you."

Kari let out a sigh of relief. "Who are you?"

"Are you sure she hasn't lost it?" Yolei whispered.

"Shh!" Gatomon snapped. Her eyes were on her partner, refusing to leave her face, as if she was waiting for the first sign of trouble. It both comforted Kari and made her nervous.

"I am Homeostasis," the entity explained.

"Is that a name?" Kari asked.

"It is what you may call me, and it is what I am. I am balance, equilibrium between light and darkness. When one becomes too great, balance is thrown off, and it is my job to put it right." The spinning entity seemed to shiver where it floated. "Balance has been lost, and it will continue to be lost. I see dark times ahead."

"You can see the future?"

"I can see bits and pieces," Homeostasis said. "And I can send prophecies to those who can hear me like you, all in an attempt to keep the world in perfect balance. Not always is it clear or make sense."

"Were you the one that told us to come here?" Kari asked.

"Will you please tell us what's going on?" Yolei shifted impatiently from one foot to the other.

"It's the entity," Gatomon explained quietly, "the one who took over Kari eight years ago to tell us about our history, about how she and the others were chosen to be digidestined, and how I got separated from the other digimon."

"Oh, I remember this story," Yolei said.

"Should we do something to intervene?" Hawkmon asked. "Is she in any danger?"

"I don't think so," Gatomon admitted.

Homeostasis spun unsteadily on its axis. "Yes and no," it explained. "I spoke to the digimon who sent the message, and they in turn messaged you."

"Then you know where TK is!" Kari gasped.

"I only see bits and pieces," Homeostasis reminded her. "Something about this boy you met in Primary Village and the Child of Hope's disappearance is connected. The exact way is still unclear to even me. I have been unable to consult with the other digital entities about the unbalance I have been feeling from the Digital World as I have been unable to reach them for the last month. Gennai and his counterparts have all been shrouded from me."

"Shrouded from you?" Kari said. "Wait… Are you telling me that Gennai is missing?"

"Gennai is missing!?" Gatomon, Yolei, and Hawkmon gasped.

Kari ignored them, her attention fully on Homeostasis at this point.

"If Gennai had been destroyed, his data would have returned to the Digital World to continue the cycle," Homestasis said. "But it has not, which leads me to believe that he is still alive… but shrouded from my reach. This started one month ago when I first started to feel the imbalance start to grow. I do not know why. I cannot find the source, and I cannot find Gennai."

"What sort of imbalance?" Kari said, trying to wrap her head around all of this. "Does this mean a new evil digimon is trying to take over the Digital World? Does he have Gennai? Does he have TK?"

"I do not know," the entity said. "Something is wrong in the flow of data in the Digital World. Without Gennai to give his perspective of the corporeal side of things, I cannot make sense of it. Data still flows, digimon still are reborn, but something is happening. Something… bad. Then the Child of Hope disappeared."

"And Takato showed up here in the Digital World," Kari supplied, but the words made her chest hurt, "with no memory."

"Are you getting all of this?" Yolei whispered to Hawkmon.

"Only half of it for obvious reasons," Hawkmon said, "but hopefully this means we may finally have some answers."

Gatomon nodded. "That's all we can hope for."

"It is no coincidence, but he does not belong," Homeostasis said.

"What does that mean?" Kari asked, but a part of her already knew the answer.

"He is not one of you, and he is not of this world. Beyond that, I cannot tell you much more. He is as clouded to me as Gennai's location. All I know is that the one with goggles that you found in Primary Village will lead you to discovering what happened to the Child of Hope. What that is… only time will tell."

Kari looked from Homeostasis to Yolei, Gatomon, and Hawkmon who were all watching her intently. She had a sudden desire to tell all of them about her dream, to confess that she knew what was happening – at least part of the story. And that the bad stuff was only beginning.

"I—" she said. "I need to— You need to know what—"

Before she could continue, Homeostasis's light flickered away only to be replaced by a hate-filled greenish glow. Dark violet claws reached through the haze and gripped Kari on the shoulders. She shrieked.

"Kari!" Gatomon cried out, but she didn't seem to know what to do against an invisible enemy.

Kari tried to back away, but the claws were like steel clamps, holding her in place.

_Run away, little girl,_ the voice said, but it wasn't Homeostasis's voice anymore. It sounded demonic, deep and gravelly, not at all human, and like the being was speaking from somewhere far away, down a long, echoing pipe. _I shall awaken, Kari Kamiya, and the earth shall swallow all of you. The solstice is your doom. Do not fight it. _

The forest started spinning. Yolei tried shaking Kari out of whatever trance she was in, but it was no use. Green smoke enveloped Kari's vision, and she was no longer sure if she was awake or dreaming. The green smoke parted, revealing the face of a demon with goat horns coming out of the top of its head. Chains lit with green flames wrapped around its body, and the creature's red eyes bore into her. The creature's mouth opened, revealing its fangs and sending its horribly thick breath like perfume wafting over Kari. It spoke in the same echoing voice: _We rise, and you cannot stop us. Greed is only the first. Bow to his will, and you may be spared when our king rises. YOU CANNOT STOP US! _

Kari's knees buckled, and everything went black.


End file.
